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Comstockery

American  
[kuhm-stok-uh-ree, kom-] / ˈkʌm stɒk ə ri, ˈkɒm- /

noun

  1. overzealous moral censorship of the fine arts and literature, often mistaking outspokenly honest works for salacious ones.


comstockery British  
/ ˈkʌmˌstɒkərɪ, ˈkɒm- /

noun

  1. immoderate censorship on grounds of immorality

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • Comstocker noun
  • Comstockian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Comstockery

First recorded in 1895–1900; after A. Comstock ( def. ) + -ery

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In the early 20th century, this idea of Comstockery becomes really popular.

From Scientific American • Apr. 28, 2023

His name may be forgotten, but the age of Comstockery is not over.

From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2019

After the bad days of Comstockery, the quality of his poetry was improving with the quality of his encounters:

From Salon • Jan. 11, 2014

George Bernard Shaw said: "Comstockery is the world's standing joke at the expense of the United States."

From Time Magazine Archive

What Comstockery does is bad enough, but its real awfulness lies in the fact that it seems to fairly enough represent us in our attitude toward a certain class of ideas and things.

From Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 1, March 1906 by Goldman, Emma